Lisboa, Portugal

We have finally made it to Europe, and the trans-Atlantic crossing is officially over! Lisbon, Portugal was our first port. The ship docked right in close to the city and though we had a training session right in the middle of the day, Sam and I got out to see the city in the morning before the training and also in the afternoon.

It was a stunning city, with a Golden Gate-esque bridge on one side (which we sailed right under), and a low, long-reaching car bridge on the other. The castle of Saint George was a major highlight, and the streets were endless strings of gorgeous buildings from different eras. In the early morning we wandered through a wealthy housing area and enjoyed the white-washed and tiled houses.

It was a very attractive and lively city, where I could happily have spent days! This was also our only Portuguese port, which we visit just the once.

 

Sam with a Portuguese Tank

Sao Miguel, Azores (Wedding Anniversary)

On April 21^st Sam and I celebrated our 2^nd wedding anniversary. This was also the day that we reached land for the first time in a week, having crossed most of the Atlantic Ocean. We were scheduled to dock in Sao Miguel, Azores for the day. We took a tour around the Island, the largest in the Archipelago, formed by the meeting of three large tectonic plates.

We found out that the islands are the antipodes of New Zealand, being exactly on the opposite side of the world! It was only slightly surprising then, that the landscapes and general appearance of the land bore a startling resemblance to our homeland. I am actually feeling incredibly homesick for the first time today, and I wonder if perhaps this island had something to do with that!

The northern side is sheltered from the rough northern weather and has a vast amount of dairy farms, as well as many of the main towns and villages. There are many banana and pineapple plantations in this part too. We saw a small island not 300m from the coast, where the Red Bull Cliff Diving competitions will be held soon.

Our tour stopped in a the Furnas Valley, which is a vast valley formed from a volcanic eruption. The soil is incredibly fertile and also warm, so all manner of plants grow there. We visited a botanic garden named “Terra Nostra”, which was first created in the 1800s when romantic gardens were very popular in Europe. There were plants from all over the world and our tour guide boasted of the trees from New Zealand, the antipodes. We were incredibly excited and it only took us a few moments to identify them as a pohutakawa and cabbage tree.

There is a lot of volcanic activity in the valley (Rotorua, anyone??), and we saw a hot swimming pool with thermally heated iron water and a bunch of “caldeira” (geysers).

On leaving the valley we stopped for a photo opportunity looking down onto the quaint valley and the “fire lake”.

The northern side of the island met the ocean with large cliffs and was much more wild than the south. This side also had a large number of tea plantations. We stopped in the “city” of Ribeira Grande, which means large river, though in actual fact it was a small stream. I loved the quaint town though, and particularly the gorgeous bridge over the stream, which ran through the centre of the town.

 All in all, it felt like a small NZ meets Portugal meets the islands. It was a stunning place to visit and we enjoyed a glass of wine and local cheese in the capital Ponta Delgada afterwards. For those who are interested in the rest of our anniversary celebrations, we went to the fanciest restaurant on board the ship for an extensive French dinner including a rather large Chateaubriand steak, Muscovy duck and everything imaginable on either side. It was an amazing day.

 

St Maarten

We got off the ship nice and early in this final Caribbean port and caught a shuttle bus to a lesser-known beach named Mullet Bay. This spot was an absolutely stunning crescent shape and we literally spent the whole time in the water swimming.

There were a couple of catamarans anchored in the bay bringing snorkelers. We talked one of the guides into giving us an ice cold beer to drink in the water. The heads on either side of the bay were coral barriers sheltering the crystal clear water. It was idyllic and a fabulous way to finish our time in the Caribbean.

From here we begin our Transatlantic Voyage! This means 6 days straight of what the crew call “aqua, aqua, aqua”, one day in the Azores Islands (on our Wedding Anniversary) and then two more days at sea before we finally reach Portugal. I’m hoping to blog about the ship and life here over since there won’t be any exciting ports to share! x

Roseau, Dominica

The Island of Dominica was unlike the rest of the ports that we visited in the Caribbean. It is a mountainous, volcanic Island covered in rainforest. It was a stark contrast to the other dry and often rather barren islands. I also found it refreshing in that it seemed a lot less spoiled by commercialism.

We had been told that the best way to spend our time was to venture into the rainforest and walk to some of the beautiful waterfalls inland. With a group of friends, we caught a van to near Trafalgar Falls.

On the way we saw an abundance of unique tropical plants, including cocoa and coffee beans, papaya, coconuts, bamboo and palms. The jungle and overall flora reminded me of the Pacific Islands.

We walked up to the foot of Trafalgar Falls. There are two large falls, named Papa and Mama, and the view from the platform was spectacular.

Mama

From there we crossed some hot water streams and pools and climbed up and over the volcanic rocks and found a beautiful pool at the base of Mama. The water was beautifully crisp and fresh, and also very cold! We had a pretty magical time swimming there and found it hard to return to the ship.

Papa